Disclaimer: I don't own anything except an unfortunate soul I like torture every now and then.
RebukeX7: Fuck me and fuck you too.
RebuffX7: Shut up, I own your ass. You knew the risks of making deals with me. Matter of fact…who let you out of the cupboard?
RebukeX7: …*leaves*
RebuffX7: That's what I thought.
Alright so the review issue seems to have been fixed…again. So I should be able to respond to them all. Also before we begin let me address a misunderstanding. The warning last chapter was for the REST of the story. I only put it there because that was the first instance of anything remotely dark. This story will be TAME for a while, I just don't want you all to get caught off guard when shit starts getting real later.
Also… you might be wondering where I've been. Well Rebuke and I ending up having one hell of a semester but look on the Brightside we're graduates now! Fuck yeah!
RebukeX7: *Muffled* wooo!
As you may have known Rebuke was majoring in Accounting and minoring in Business+English, I on the other hand majored in English and minored in business. Which meant I had far too many papers to write to even think of writing fanfiction but believe me I did not intend to disappear as long as I did.
RebukeX7: *muffled* And you talk about me!
Don't make me come in there. Anyway that's where I've been. Rebuke is out of his funk, he's been dabbling with some of the stories. Jotting a thing or two there every now and then. However, when he comes back I'm not sure because he's focusing on this new novel of his…and let me say I'm not bullshitting when I say it's good. However, the world he's building is on some next level shit (So much so that he had to halt the first book cause the new one is just that much better and he wants to introduce his best work first for you guys) I've been helping where I could.
Still understand this is a big project, building a world from the ground up getting the rules together, the characters (Has over 50 so far of varying importance), the nuances, this is not easy. Like it took two months of researching before the prologue could even be jotted down. Still won't say much but if you're a fan of any of the following: Classic RPG classes (Thieves in particular), Harry potter, or RWBY then this project may be something you'd enjoy.
RebukeX7 *muffled* Dat plug tho~
Just keeping people updated. Hell some still don't realize that I'm NOT YOU. Come on people! *cries* Oh well doesn't matter, you're all still stuck with me, I'll make you love me damn it! Now on with the show~
(Beta's Notes) The Undying Will: Sorry for the delay ladies and people of the internet. You would have had this chapter about more than half a day earlier if I wasn't out of town and without access to my laptop to edit. I apologize but I had to help my family out and keep contact with my girlfriend since she was also at someplace else with her family. With that said, I busted my ass to correct this chapter in an hour and a half with the help of "Sono Chi no Sadame" on loop to listen to. Enjoy the chapter! I know I did as I made appropriate poses.
Level 3: Cloak of Devastation
Featured BGMs
Bros on the Road- Final Fantasy XV OST
BGM: Snow in Summer-NieR OST
BRE TH/LESS [Breathless] - Hiroyuki Sawano
Snow's Theme- Final fantasy XIII
-Tristain: Inn-
"Look you said home is where the heart is or some nonsense. If that's the case then we just need to stick together for now."
A good night's rest.
That's what it took before the weight of Louise's words registered in the distraught maid–er–former maid's head. Siesta was currently lying on the bed she had shared with Louise staring at the ceiling as she began to reconcile the current changes in her life.
First and foremost, she was a fugitive that was complicit in the murder of a Noble.
Siesta didn't feel as bad about the second half of that and she guessed she was happy to be out of the uniform for a bit. Said uniform had been tossed out long ago and she was wearing a pair of black pants with matching pair of boots and tank top. Lightning had gone out and gathered the two younger women changes of clothes.
From where or how, Siesta dared not ask.
Still gone was her only source of income, to say Siesta was a bit concerned about her future would be an understatement.
"Look you said home is where the heart is or some nonsense. If that's the case then we just need to stick together for now."
At least until she remembered just who she was on the run with. Though Lightning remained fearless and took the sudden change in stride, Louise was a different matter. The Noble tried to play it off but Siesta knew better than to take Louise's word for that. The Noble gave up a lot for her, so much so that it made Siesta's heart ache, and she was positive her friend was still shaken from the previous night's events.
Louise.
When Siesta read her romance novels, there was often a mention of how a person's name alone could bring about a storm of emotion within the protagonist. Siesta, though a die-hard romantic at heart, believed this to be nothing but fiction. However, she recently realized that she could not have been more wrong. Safe to say the things she felt when she thought of the smaller pinkette unnerved her greatly.
"There is no knight in shining armor for commoner filth like yourself."
She had spent her life fantasizing about a knight in shining armor that would save her from this hell that commoners were forced to call a life. It was all she ever wanted, but Siesta now realized that she was in pursuit of the wrong things in life because Louise…
…was everything she didn't know she needed.
She was spoiled
She was prideful to a fault.
Short-tempered.
Brash.
Everything Siesta hated…but…
She was strong.
She had a great heart.
Loyal.
Courageous.
"If she's property, then I'm here to take back what's mine."
"Possessive." Siesta thought with a flush, she wasn't sure exactly which side of the list that particular trait landed on yet but safe to say the other qualities she listed were things Siesta…
…loved.
"How are you holdin' up girly?" Derflinger questioned from his corner of the room.
"I'm walking on a fine line between friendship and sin."
"Ah, the usual then."
Another thing Siesta realized early on was that, both of the pinkettes were incurably dense when it came to matters of the heart. She doubted Lightning had even experienced romance seeing how long she was apparently fighting. Not to mention Louise was the type of person to fall in love and not only not understand what she felt, but deny it until she breathed her last breath. Yes, right now she was completely alone in her Sapphic crisis and the only person she could talk to was the humorous sword whom turned to out to be very wise when he felt like it.
"One day at a time." Derflinger spoke up once more. "Besides, even if you do end up with feelings for her, you know it'll be forever before she catches on."
"Like hell it will." Siesta said with a surprising amount of steel in her voice. She was a romantic, but not a patient one. It would be one thing if Louise had feelings for someone else prior to them meeting, then she'd keep it low-key, but still obvious enough to not be misunderstood, and ultimately leave the choice up to the smaller pinkette.
That however, wasn't the case here.
She was here first.
The moment she came to terms with whatever was going on, Louise would know exactly where they stood.
*Click*
"I look like a stable boy, what do you think?" Louise asked as she stepped out of the room's private restroom gaining Siesta's attention. She was now wearing a simple black blouse, a pair of black horse riding pants, and a pair of matching boots. Though her outfit was an improvement from the tattered remains of her old uniform, it wasn't what caught, Siesta's attention.
"You cut your hair." Siesta said with a small frown, and no, not because she disliked it but rather because it did nothing but threaten to push Siesta over the fine line she was walking.
"Yeah, it got clipped after last night so I fixed up a bit, seems I lost a few inches." Louise said with a shrug. Though still long, her hair was no longer the length it was before. Passing just past her shoulders, Louise opted to pull it back into a pony tail which hung over her right shoulder. "Is it that bad?" Louise asked with a small pout when she saw Siesta's expression making the commoner groan.
"No, it's great." Siesta said honestly, putting her face in her hands, as Louise made her way towards her. Misunderstanding the cause for Siesta's current dilemma, Louise gently removed Siesta's hands and gave her friend her best attempt at a reassuring smile.
"I know you're still stressed after last night, but don't worry. I told you that I've got you." Louise said sincerely as Siesta's eye twitched a bit before she released a long breath.
"I know you do." Siesta said quietly, her eyes glancing down at Louise's lips briefly but before she could say or do anything.
"I'm back." Lightning called out as she walked into the room, not even batting an eye at the fact that Louise was hovering over Siesta with her hands holding her wrists.
"Etro damn it/Damn it!" Both Lumina and Derflinger unknowingly thought at the same time.
"Are you serious with this timing!?" Lumina asked incredulously, confusing Lightning greatly.
"What? Whatever, we need to figure out where we're headed." Lightning thought as she sat at a table, Louise joining her as a dazed Siesta sat up in the bed. "First thing's first, where are we going?" Lightning asked Louise as she placed a map on the table.
"You're asking me?" Louise questioned in surprise.
"Your world, your mission, you said you wanted to bring down Nobility. So how are we going to do that?" Lightning questioned the stunned Noble. "Make no mistake, I'm here to guide you not lead you."
"W-well…" Louise began, trying to recover from her shock as the full weight of her decision dawned on her. This wasn't a movement she was joining, this was a movement she was creating and something told her that even if she wanted to back out, Lightning wouldn't let her. Not that she would, she made a promise to help Siesta and her word was literally the only thing of value she had left. "Uh…"
"Think Louise, take a deep breath and think. Time for all that knowledge you have about how things work to be put to use." Lightning said as she crossed her arms while Louise bit her lip. "Don't tell me you're all talk?" Lightning challenged making Louise tense as she narrowed her eyes at her familiar.
No.
Not after what happened last night.
She was anything but just talk, she could walk the walk if pushed there. She'll be damned if the blood on her hands was all for naught.
"Our priority is getting out of here." Louise finally said making Lightning smirk as Siesta turned her attention to Louise. "I'll admit it, at the end of the day I'm a Noble. Helping commoners won't mean that much to me if I can't help the one that matters. It's been a day, no doubt there are wanted posters of us up by now?"
"There are." Lightning said as she pulled out four wanted posters that featured the three of them and some rogue named Fouquet. "I grabbed them all as escaped some law enforcement that was trying to tail me."
"I see." Louise muttered, her hand clenching into a fist when she saw the four posters. As expected, Lightning had the highest bounty which meant that the knights had already questioned the Academy. It's the only way that they would even have any idea of Lightning's threat level. Also as expected Louise was wanted to be brought in alive, but they were paying for Siesta's head. "They'll be asking around town, won't be long before they find out we're here."
"So what do we do?" Siesta asked in concern as Louise looked up at Lightning.
"Find a carriage, preferably from a merchant so that we have some resources, and take it." Louise told Lightning. "Out of all of us, you have the most experience stealing things." Louise added with a smirk making Ligtning roll her eyes in irritation.
"For the last time, I tried to buy the damn sword!"
"Doesn't make the transaction any less illegal, sparks." Derflinger piped up making Lightning glower at him.
"Once you get the carriage, we can escape under the guise of merchants. We're wanted but it's still new enough to avoid suspicion for now." Louise said before placing a finger on the map. "This, however, is our real goal."
"What's that?" Lightning questioned as she looked at the map. She could understand the language, but reading the text was an entirely different issue.
"Albion." Louise said making Siesta gasp.
"I heard some of the cooks and nobles talking about it, aren't they in the middle of a civil war?" Siesta questioned making Louise nod.
"I heard that too. Thing is, they have commoners on both sides-we need to figure out what could make them defect." Louise said as she looked at the other occupants of the room. "We're going there and hopefully if we aid the prince he'll support our cause. He's an acquaintance at best now, so I'm not completely sure if he'll agree with us, but he's a good man with a good heart. That I know."
"Smart. Civil war, brother killing brother. There is a pain in this country then, a pain you can possibly alleviate." Lightning said before smiling. "Something tells me they'll be particularly grateful if you succeed."
"So you agree with my plan?" Louise asked in surprise making Lightning nod.
"These people need a savior, someone to guard them against the darkness…or in your case the light." Lightning explained as she glanced out of the nearby window, a faraway look in her eyes. "There is a weight, an unbearable one–that comes with being a savior though Louise. Make sure you don't end up martyred." Lightning warned as she thought about the first time she ever saved a soul before that image was replaced with the death of her sister. "Come on." Lightning as she stood up, glancing out of the window once more she could see a group of nights approaching in the distance. "We need to leave."
Strapping Derflinger to her back, Louise beckoned Siesta to follow her as they slipped out of the Inn undetected to avoid any confrontation.
"When I was out earlier I got the layout of the city." Lightning began as they stepped out into an alley way. "Meet me at the northernmost gate in fifteen, I'll have the wagon by then."
"Got it, meet you there." Louise said as she and Siesta took off while Lightning ran away in the opposite direction.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Siesta asking in concern making Louise laugh.
"It's Lightning. What's the worst that can happen?"
-Fifteen Minutes Later-
"Why oh why did I open my big mouth?" Louise questioned with an eye-twitch when she saw Lightning racing towards them on the back of a horse that was pulling a wagon full of goods. Why was she concerned? Perhaps because of the dozen city guards racing behind the woman.
"Get on!" Lightning ordered as she approached them. Quickly giving control over to Derflinger, Louise grabbed Siesta before leaping on to the back of the wagon as they burst through the city exit.
"You had one job!" Louise said incredulously as her eyes turned pink once more.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you've stolen horses before?" Lightning asked dryly. Indeed, stealing a living animal that would most definitely make noise when a stranger approached them was not an easy task. "Maybe next time you can do it."
"Um, they're still chasing us." Siesta pointed out nervously as she held on to the side of the wagon for support.
"Tch, Louise shake them off."
"Got it." Louise said as she raised a hand that was engulfed in fire, startling Siesta whom grabbed her shoulder quickly.
"We're in a wooden wagon!" Siesta exclaimed making Louise blink as the flames died down. Upon closer inspection she noticed that the guards were far too close, when the spell erupted it would have gotten there wagon as well. Thinking quickly, Louise raised her hand once more at the pursuing guards.
"Watera!" Louise shouted as a torrent of water shot from her palm and slammed into the ground in front of the guards. Nearly immediately, the horses of their pursuers lost their balance before they all tumbled into the ground, taking the guards with them. "Got them!" Louise said with a smile and a fist-pump while Lightning felt her lips curl up a bit.
"Well done." Lightning said approvingly as the city got small and smaller the further away they got from it. "So our first stop is Albion, correct?" Lightning asked for confirmation making Louise nod before she pulled out the map.
"Yes but it's a floating Kingdom. There is a port about three or four days east of here that will allow us to get on an airship." Louise pointed out.
"So a week then, since I still want to train you two a bit."
"Two?" Siesta repeated nervously. "You mean Louise and Derflinger correct?"
"No, I don't." Lightning said as she glanced back at Siesta whom shuddered when she swore she saw an evil glint in the familiar's eye. "Experience has taught me that the longer a journey goes on, the more dangerous it is. If you can't fend for yourself then your life expectancy is going to be short."
"B-but I have no weapons or magic!"
"You've got your fists don't you? That's good enough." Lightning said with a shrug. "Or do you really want Louise to be the only one fighting for your life?" Lightning asked again making Siesta pause while Louise frowned.
"Hey, Lightning…"
"…You're right." Siesta interrupted Louise whom looked at her in surprise. "My entire life I hated being powerless, to turn down any type of power being offered to me for my own benefit would make me a hypocrite. I doubt there is much you can give me, but I'm willing to give it a shot."
"Good." Lightning said as she turned back to look at the rode. "I'm not sure if it was luck or skill, but escaping from Count Mott like you did, a man twice your size, means you aren't completely hopeless." Lightning pointed out making Siesta scratch her head sheepishly as she thought about the elbow she slammed into the man.
"Everything is changing so much and so fast…" Louise began as she got Siesta's attention. "So we just have to take it one day at a time."
-Two Hours later: Tristain Forest-
"Okay here's our goals before hitting Albion. Before, Siesta would apply first aid to you after you'd finish sparring with me. What's going to happen now is a bit of a role reversal." Lightning began as she looked at the two. "Louise you will now learn support spells while Siesta will attempt to land a blow on me. You cannot fight alongside her, Louise, you are strictly support."
"Are...are you sure about this?" Louise asked nervously making Lightning nod.
"Of course, this will force you to get good at healing…or watch her suffer, your call." Lightning said with a shrug making both of them pale before she stabbed her blade into the ground. "I'll even make it fair, no weapons or magic."
And just like that, Siesta lost all of Louise's sympathy.
"Louise!?" Siesta thought in shock when she saw the sneer Louise suddenly gave her. She sweat-dropped when Louise turned her attention to Lightning and gave her a thumbs up.
"Train her hard." Louise stated making Lightning nod before her clothes began to shine brightly. They watched in surprise as Lightning stood before them in her amazon garb, causing both of their faces to flush instantly. "W-what are you wearing!?"
"Hm? Something a bit easier to move in." Lightning said as she placed a hand on her hip. Louise and Siesta had both thought her usual grab was a bit risqué for armor…but what she wore now made the previous garb look like a nun's uniform. The sheer amount of skin Lightning was showing caught both of them completely off guard. "This armor helps a lot, especially my speed."
"What part of that is armor!?" Louise questioned incredulously. "What exactly is it protecting you from? The ability to be a bride!?"
"Huh? What do you mean? It's effective." Lightning, looking completely confused for once. "Plus it was a gift."
"From who!?" Louise questioned in shock, and somewhere, billions upon billions of miles away, Hope had the sudden urge to fist pump…after he wiped he away his sudden nosebleed.
"A dear friend of mine." Lightning said matter-of-factly as Siesta suddenly raised her hand. "Yes?"
"This friend…did they happen be a bit flustered around you? You know, just out of curiosity." Siesta asked making Lightning frown in thought. When she thought about it, Hope's face definitely tended to be red when she saw him.
"Well, I think he had bad allergies or something, why?" Lightning questioned making Siesta sigh.
"No reason." Siesta said as she shook her head. As powerful as she was, Lightning was hopeless. Siesta finally understood, even Lightning had a weakness, she was socially inept to a fault.
"Ah, good old Hope. The boy always did have good taste." Lumina thought aloud as she re-called one of Lightning's garbs which involved cat-ears and a tail. "Cute kid, a shame our paths never crossed when he had grown up, he did grow into one hell of a man."
Not even Lightning was dense enough to misunderstand Lumina's words.
"He's fourteen!" Lightning thought in disgust.
"If he's fourteen, I'm fourteen." Lumina thought back dryly. "As bad as we were messing up the timeline, the only thing fourteen about him was his body and together we make a patient woman Light. But even we have our limits."
"Disgusting." Lightning thought and time froze as Lumina made herself known. And Lightning was glad it had too because the look on Lumina's face was the first thing in years that made her openly show fear. Stalking towards Lightning, Lumina grabbed her by her shoulders and looked up at the woman with a glare so fierce it reminded Lightning that they were the same person.
"Listen to me you frigid bitch. We already came to terms that we're going to die on the battlefield, but if you think for a moment that I'm going to allow us to die a virgin, you have another thing coming!"
"What–"
"I am your heart! I need love and passion, and you have been starving me!" Lumina said through gritted teeth, crimson sparks dancing across her body. "Our BABY sister has gotten more action than us! By the looks of it, the same is going to be said for Louise as well–"
"–wait, what–"
"Focus! Look at me, I am in charge right now." Lumina nearly growled out. "Physical age or mental age, you're too old to have no experience in this, good or bad! Keep being stubborn about this Light, I dare you. I'll bend you over a table myself!" Lumina snapped as she poked Lightning in the center of her chest before vanishing as time resumed once more.
"Uh…are…are you okay?" Siesta asked in concern as Lightning suddenly looked a bit startled.
"Y-yes… just…just thought I forgot something, that's all." Lightning said as she regained her composure. The last thing her students needed was to think she had lost her damn mind…
…well more than they already assumed anyway.
"Anyway, enough chatter let's begin." Lightning said as she raised her fists. Fear evident in her face, Siesta mimicked the older woman while hoping beyond hope that it wouldn't be as bad as she expected. The fist slamming into her face along with the panicked voice of Louise calling out her name showed that she was sorely mistaken.
It was worse.
"Ouch." Siesta said with a grunt as Louise rushed to her side. Taking a deep breath Louise closed her eyes as she placed her hand over Siesta's face and attempted to channel light magic to heal her friend. What she produced was nowhere near good enough to be considered a cure spell, but she did manage to at least stop Siesta's nose from bleeding. Louise watched in concern as Siesta forced herself into a sitting position before forcing herself to her feet. Shaking her head to clear it, Siesta gave Lightning a calculating look as she rubbed the blood from the corner of her mouth. "This is just a hand to hand spar right? No magic?"
"For now, we just need to see where you stand." Lightning explained and she could have sworn she saw Siesta's lip twitch a bit, as if fighting off a grin.
"Alright, we're running that back then." Siesta trailed off as she spit some blood from her mouth. "An old fashioned brawl, it's been awhile." Siesta said as she cracked her knuckles.
"Siesta?" Louise asked in confusion making her friend smile.
"Don't worry, she throws a mean punch but I always was a bit of a tomboy back home." Siesta said as she raised her fists. "Let's go." Siesta said before charging forward and releasing a right jab at Lightning whom caught her fist in her hand. The older woman was surprised, to say the very least, when she felt her palm stinging ever so slightly. Without missing a beat, Siesta released a left hook at Lightning only for that to be caught as well. With both of their hands preoccupied, Siesta raised her leg and went to boot Lightning in her stomach. Releasing Siesta quickly, Lightning avoided the blow before slamming her fist into Siesta's face once more. Siesta recoiled from the blow and fell to her rear but nearly immediately climbed back to her feet and attacked Lightning.
BGM: Bros on the Road- Final Fantasy XV OST
One thing Lightning noted quickly was that unlike when she first started sparring with Louise…
…Siesta could take a hit.
"That punch could have knocked down a man three times her size." Lightning thought as she imagined Snow. "Then again, he did have a glass jaw." Lightning mused as she found herself locked in combat with Siesta. Every time she knocked the girl down, she'd get back up and when she'd sustain too much damage Louise managed to fix her up just enough to keep her in the fight.
"This is crazy." Louise said after healing Siesta once more for the umpteenth time as the fight had progressed well into the evening. "How is she still going?"
"Well unlike you, she wasn't sitting on her ass most her life, partner." Derflinger pointed out though his tone showed he meant no disrespect. "When you were growing up with servants, nose deep in books, where do you think she was?" Derflinger asked as Louise turned her attention back to Siesta. "She was roughing it. No magic, all she's known is manual labor and that makes for a tough body." Derflinger said as Siesta took a moment to stretch, her well-toned stomach showing the truth in the sword's words "Why do you think so many commoner's are in the military or guards? A lack of magic does not mean a lack of physical power."
"I see…but…she looks like she's having fun." Louise said with a frown making Derflinger laugh.
"She said she was a tomboy right? Somethin' tells me the little lady feels as though she's right at home." Derflinger said as Siesta was knocked down and hit the ground face first. Louise went to go help her immediately. "Wait! Watch." Derflinger said making Louise frown as Siesta forced herself up once more, her hand digging into the dirt as Lightning approached her.
"Alright, that might be enough for-"Lightning was cut off when Siesta turned around quickly and threw dirt into Lightning's eyes making her grunt as she stumbled back. Getting to her feet quickly, Siesta stepped inside her guard and slammed a right hook into Lightning's face.
"Siesta!" Louise exclaimed looking a bit appalled at the underhanded tactic. What was worse was that Lightning didn't even fall from the blow. When she finally got the dirt from her eyes, Louise was expecting Lightning to explode with rage after all such tactics were no looked upon kindly in duels. However, instead of yelling…
…Lightning laughed…
…she laughed hard. Before long both Siesta and Derflinger joined her as she nodded approvingly.
"It's been a long time since someone's used that old trick against me. Very good, use everything at your disposal." Lightning said with a smile as her Equilibrium garb reappeared. "Alright we need to keep moving and make a camp at nightfall."
"I…I don't get it." Louise said in confusion while Derflinger chuckled. "That…that wasn't an honorable tactic was it?"
"Partner, honor is for the dead." Derflinger pointed out. "Lightning is teaching you two how to fight. In a real fight anything goes. Duels are for Nobles, does Siesta look like a Noble to you?" Derflinger questioned curiously as Louise looked at her friend whom was panting tiredly on the ground, her legs having long since given up her.
"That…that was fun." Siesta said with a short laugh as Louise approached her and extended a hand to help her up. Accepting her hand, Siesta felt Louise pull her to her feet and it was only then that Louise noticed the difference between their hands. Her's and Lightning's were soft and smooth, mainly due to the healing spells for the latter, but Siesta's were calloused and rough.
"You're…you're an interesting person." Louise said before leaving to grab Derflinger while Siesta looked at her in confusion.
"Eh?" Siesta said as she scratched the back of her head in confusion.
And that's how the next few days went. They'd train with Lightning, hunt to gather food and other resources, eat, talk, sleep, and continue on down the road towards a destination Louise wasn't even sure was worth it…but….if the four of them were together…
….Louise wasn't so sure she cared, any trip with them was worth it in her opinion.
Though she'd never admit it, of course.
BGM: END
-4 Days Later: Abandoned shack-
It was four days later when the group found themselves seeking refuge from a violent storm in an abandoned shack. The sound of the thunder seemed to shake the very ground as lightning flashed through the windows.
"Man I hate lightning." Derflinger muttered making Lightning scoff as she rung out her hair.
"Believe me, the feelings mutual." Lightning deadpanned making the blade sputter.
"Wait-what? No I meant-never mind." Derflinger said with a sigh.
"You two, get out of those clothes before you get sick. We're going to be camping in here tonight it seems." Lightning said before switching from her wet Equilibrium garb to her Soldier first-class garb. Both Siesta and Louise immediately paled when they saw the massive blade strapped to her back. The ease at which Lightning grabbed the blade and stabbed it into the ground made them both stumble back. "Cure is good for physical injuries but I've never had to try it on colds, don't feel like testing it out either. Let me look for a blanket or something."
"Hey Sparks, what's in the strange chest next to ya?" Derflinger questioned making Lightning frown before she glanced at a strangely ornate chest that looked completely out of place in the dusty old shack. Opening it up, Lighting raised an eyebrow when she found a large black piece of fabric folded up. Picking it up and unfolding it, it revealed itself to be a large black jacket. Shrugging, Lighting got Siestas attention and tossed it towards her.
"Huddle up and try to get under that, we're gonna be stuck here tonight." Lightning said making Siesta nod as she and Louise sat down before tossing the Jacket over them.
"So we're actually done for the day?" Louise questioned getting a nod from Lightning. Sighing in relief, Louise nodded her head. "Good. I'm exhausted."
"Same." Siesta said before yawning.
"Get some sleep, our trip continues tomorrow. We still have a few days to go." Lightning advised making them nod as they decided to get some shut-eye. Snuggling a bit closer to her friend, Louise yawned before shutting her eyes.
-?-
"W-what?" Louise wondered as she found herself in a destroyed city of some sort. In a moment of clarity she wondered if she was dreaming only to realize that everything felt a little too real to be a simple dream. If she were to be honest to herself, it felt similar to the time she had to relive Derflinger's memories. "What's going on–oh no." Louise whispered as she saw scorched bodies buried beneath some of the nearby rubble.
They were still smoking.
She must have just missed whatever did this.
"Wait…" Louise muttered as she began walking through the destruction, a cold realization dawning on her as she saw more and more bodies.
She knew where she was.
She had walked these very streets too many times not to.
She was walking through Tristain's capital.
"Who...what...could have done this?" Louise questioned in horror, her stomach churning at the twisted forms of some of the corpses. Their horrified expressions still conveyed through their scorched faces. Who would attack her country like this?
Suddenly a scream could be heard in the distance.
The voice sounding hauntingly familiar even when it was filled with terror.
The voice belonged to Henrietta.
Running, Louise made it to the end of the street and turned the corner only to find her blood freeze instantly.
BGM: Snow in Summer-NieR OST
Louise fell to her knees.
Her eyes trembling as her mind was unable to come to terms with what she was seeing. She had found Henrietta, being held up into the air by her throat. Blood spilling from her mouth as she gripped her assailant by their wrists in a vain attempt to break free.
However, it wasn't the sight Henrietta that brought Louise to her knees.
No, it was the sight of her assailant.
It was a woman that may have been an inch or two shorter than Henrietta. She was wearing an elegant black dress with matching heels. Her legs were covered in a dark pair of stockings and her neck was covered in a black lace choker. The clouds had parted just enough to create a makeshift spotlight with the sun's rays that shone down on the two women. The light seemed to shimmer when it made contact with the assailant's silky pink hair
"L-Louise…w-why?" Henrietta gasped out making her assailant click her tongue.
"Did you seriously ask me that?" The woman asked calmly as long black blade floated ominously behind the woman, spinning a slowly beside her as it was poised to the strike Henrietta down. "After what you did? After how you betrayed me?"
"I–I–"
"Die."
"Stop!" A voice shouted making the blade stop an inch away from Henrietta's chest. The assailant glanced to the side where she saw a young blonde female knight dig herself up from the rubble. "Zero…don't you dare touch her."
"How curious…you're giving me orders?" Zero questioned as the blade floated towards Henrietta slowly before its blade touched her skin and began to dig in at a torturous pace, making Henrietta scream in agony. Finally turning to face the knight, as if only now acknowledging her existence, Louise's horrified eyes noticed that the woman had two different colored eyes.
One pink
One blue
"No I'm pleading with you, have mercy! I don't know what happened but you don't honestly think she is responsible for whatever caused you this much anger!?" The knight said as she bowed down to Zero. "I know I can't fight you, but please show mercy–"
"Mercy? Look at me and tell me if this appears to be the face of Mercy?" Zero said as the sword continued to dig deeper and deeper into Henrietta. "Tristain will fall today. Many of her subjects are already gone, why shouldn't their leader have the same fate?"
"Because it wasn't her doing." A new voice said making Louise tense as an all too familiar figure stepped next to her. "It was my command." Karin said as she gazed up at the mountain of rubble that used to be the capital building where her Queen was currently being held captive.
"You think I do not know that, mother?" Zero spit out, a sneer on her face–the first sign of emotion Louise had seen on her since the horrific scene had started. "But you are under her command are you not?"
"Yes, but she was not aware of my decision–"
"Then she failed as a leader." Zero said simply making Karin tense. "And her failure as a leader brought down her entire kingdom. Your home."
"Our home." Karin corrected through gritted teeth.
"I have no home, you made sure of that didn't you?" Zero drawled lazily before her sword pulled back out of Henrietta's skin. "The sight of a commoner trying so hard to keep this Noble alive…moved me…so let's play a game shall we? We'll call it...fate." Zero said as she looked down at the knight.
*SCHLICK!*
Louise's stomach lurched as she saw the sword rip through Henrietta's stomach before pulling itself out while both the knight and her mother shouted in alarm. The downed Queen was then tossed in front of the horrified knight.
"Take her and leave, see if you can manage to save her life. But do not return…not…that there will be anything for you to return to that is." Zero said calmly as the Knight quickly picked up Henrietta and dashed away, tears in her eyes at the fact she had failed her ruler so much. "Now that you finally showed yourself, I can do what I came here to do." Zero said, a disturbing smile on her face.
"And what is that?" Karin asked angrily as she drew her blade.
"As if you have to ask. You brought me into this world, please allow me to take you out of it!" Zero said before disappearing in a black flash before reappearing in front of Karin whom had barely enough time to parry her daughter's strike.
Time seemed to slow as Louise found herself right next to this monster…right next to...herself. Louise gasped when instead of looking at Karin, Zero turned to glance down and look at…
…her.
It was then Zero released a loud laugh, not one filled with humor but rather aimed at herself as if she had just been a part of some sort of cosmic joke where she was the punchline.
"I was wrong." Zero told Louise. "You can't stop this from happening." Zero said as she shook her head with a pained grin before glaring back up at Karin. "Your rule of steel? I'm about to blow it apart, Explosion!"
A blue light.
That was all Louise saw before she found herself kicked from the strange scene.
BGM: END
-Abandoned Shack-
"Louise!" Louise's eyes snapped open when she felt herself being shaken awake by Siesta. "Are you okay?"
"Huh, what?"
"You were having a hell of a nightmare, partner." Derflinger piped up getting Louise's attention. Louise could even spot Lightning looking at her in concern. Had she been tossing and turning that badly? "You okay?"
"Y-yeah…just a nightmare." Louise said as she regained her bearings.
"Be careful, you're a Void Mage after all. Don't take your nightmares lightly." Derflinger stated making Louise look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Void Mages have a tendency to get visions about pivotal events in their life when they sleep." Derflinger said as Siesta and Lightning both turned to face him. "Half the reason Brimmy went off the deep end is because he saw Sasha betray him."
"What? But she only "betrayed" him because he lost his mind!"
"Exactly, it was a self-fulfillin' prophecy." Derflinger said matter-of-factly. "Trying to avoid what you see ends up being the cause a lot of the time."
"Great, now we have to deal with visions of the future?" Lightning said with an almost growl, startling them with her sudden intensity. "Sorry, I have a few bad experiences dealing with visions and time travel.
(LIAG Fun Fact: Seriously that was pretty much the entirety of XIII-2)
"So what do I do? What I saw…let's say it didn't paint me in a good light. I don't want to become a monster." Louise said helplessly as she turned to her mentor.
"The only advice I can give you, Louise…is for you to not forget what you're fighting for. As long as you keep your goal in mind, I will be here. Hero? Monster? Those are just labels, Louise. You'll be one or the other to someone no matter what you do." Lightning stated as Siesta grabbed Louise's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"I believe in you." Siesta said with a bright smile. "Whatever you saw, it doesn't matter, and we all know that a monster is the last thing you are."
"So brighten up partner! Don't give up before we even get really started!" Derflinger said as Louise looked between all them who showed their support in their own ways.
This was the first time she had felt this.
To have this many people believe in her
"Everyone…" Louise trailed off quietly, closing her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Understood."
"Good, now get ready, because we have company." Lightning said as she stood up and raised a flaming hand to the wall of the cabin.
*FABOOOOOOOM!*
"Ah!"
"What!?"
Quickly climbing to their feet, Louise grabbed Derflinger as Siesta instinctively held onto the black piece of fabric as the smoke dissipated. Once it did, they climbed out of the destroyed cabin and were surprised to find an armored woman along with two familiar faces.
"Kirche?" Louise questioned in surprise as the armored woman climbed back to her feet, having been blown away by the sudden blast. "Tabitha?" Louise questioned again as she noticed the bluenette behind the fire-mage. Louise's heart leapt to her throat when she saw the armored woman it was the same knight that had been begging her for mercy in her vision.
"Louise…" Kirche began looking conflicted as if she were happy and distraught at the same time upon spotting Louise. "If you're here…then it means it was true. You...you actually betrayed your country." Kirche said as if she couldn't believe what she herself had just said.
"They sent you all after me?" Louise asked in surprise. "Lightning, what do should we do?" Louise asked as her familiar seemed to be distracted by something in the distance.
"That's up to you, I sense another presence but I can't exactly pin point it just yet." Lightning said quietly as she began walking away, completely disregarding the situation before her. "Deal with this. Remember what you've learned." Lightning ordered before disappearing at a speed that caught the newcomers by surprise.
"Get back–damn it…we are here under her highness' orders to apprehend Fouquet after he attacked the school and stole the cloak of devastation." Agnes said making them turn their attention to the armored woman. "Though finding you here, it seems we have uncovered something bigger. You must be in league with Fouquet, tell me Vallière just what are you planning!?"
"Wait what!? I'm not in league with Fouquet!" Louise exclaimed, shocked by the accusation. Of all the things she had done she didn't expect to be apprehended for the one crime she didn't commit.
"Lies will not get you out of this. The cloak is right there!" Agnes said as she pulled out her sword and pointed at the fabric in Siesta's hands.
"What!?" both Louise and Siesta exclaimed as they looked at the garment. Suddenly, things began to fall into place for them as they realized that they had managed to seek refuge in a thief's hideout.
"Are you serious? Was I just born without luck?" Louise asked herself incredulously.
"Not only that, but the woman holding the cloak. She's that maid that was stolen from Count Mott right after you murdered him is it not!?" Agnes interrogated. "Your crimes are severe, Vallière. Your status and your relationship with the princess may let you avoid death but you will be punished for your transgressions against the crown!"
"Now wait, the zero is a lot of things but she's not a murderer!" Kirche said, surprising Louise slightly. "Louise can't cast magic, there is no way she could have murdered the Count no matter what those commoners said!" Kirche said before turning to her former classmate. "Louise, defend yourself! Don't let yourself get framed for murder!" It was then that Kirche looked at Tabitha in surprise when her shorter friend suddenly stepped in front of her and raised her staff, a cooler than usual expression on her face. "Tabitha?"
"Not the same." Was all Tabitha said as she gazed at Louise. There was a certain way Louise was carrying herself that was all too familiar to her.
"You can't be serious…am I the only one who hasn't gone mad?" Kirche asked herself before looking up at Louise. "Why aren't you denying anything?"
"I'll admit that I'm not working with Fouquet nor did I have anything to do with the school being attacked. That's however irrelevant, because in that case the truth is stranger than fiction." Louise said with a sigh. It was true, the fact that they stumbled across the cloak accidently and used it as a blanket…
…yeah that would never be believed.
"…As for Count Mott…I am a Noble, or at least was, I have some honor. I won't deny it, I took his life." Louise admitted before glancing at Siesta. "And I don't regret it. If I could, I would do it again."
"Louise, no…" Kirche muttered unable to believe what she was hearing. Upon hearing of Louise's actions, Kirche felt herself responsible believing that the constant bullying had finally made the shorter Noble snap and go off of the deep end.
"So you at least admit to that then, how honorable of you." Agnes said sarcastically. "Why? Why betray the crown?" Agnes asked though Louise could tell what she really meant.
"Why betray her?"
[Remember Louise, a battle is only half physical, the other half is mental. If you can get inside your opponent's head, figure out what makes them tick, you can manipulate the fight into your favor.]
"You two are close aren't you?" Louise asked having a moment of clarity and understanding as Lightning's words rung throughout her mind along with the memories of her vision. Agnes' glare was fierce as Louise gave her sad smile. "You're one of the luckier commoners. To be devoted to one of the few Nobles that understands their positions. I'll put it like this then. In this world, you are property." Louise said bluntly and she was surprised that Agnes hadn't attempted to take her down yet. "More accurately, you're her property are you not?"
"Get to the point!" Agnes snapped.
"She and I aren't so different, we're old friends. Only recently can I honestly say we view the world somewhat similarly." Louise said as he raised her blade, an act that made everyone tense. "Count Mott took…property…that didn't belong to him, to anyone, but I had my fair share of interest in it. He mistreats property as I bet you know, and I wanted to protect this particular piece. He didn't understand and things escalated. This situation is similar because things are about to escalate, I can feel it, but understand this if you wish to continue. One misstep and I will show you exactly how far I'm willing to go to protect what's mine."
Again, Siesta wasn't sure how to take that but the pleasant shiver that went through her body at the Noble's words made her decide to take Louise's possessiveness as a pro and not a con.
"Your familiar just ran away, you're outnumbered! Just surrender!" Agnes ordered as Louise frowned.
"Siesta, stay back." Louise ordered only for the commoner to place a hand on her shoulder.
"No, I won't leave you here. We just need to last until Lightning gets back, right?"
"Siesta–"
"Louise, don't worry. I'll stay away from the Nobles." Siesta promised as Louise gritted her teeth. "I can at least keep the knight off your back."
"Tch, fine." Louise said with a huff once she realized Siesta wasn't going anywhere. "You get hurt and I'll never forgive you."
"I'll have to be careful then." Siesta said with a smile making Louise sigh before glaring at Agnes.
"Last chance, turn around and walk away." Louise making the knight narrow her eyes.
"I'll never run away." Agnes said making Louise close her eyes.
"Fine." Louise said as she stepped forward.
BGM: BRE TH/LESS [Breathless] - Hiroyuki Sawano
[Blade Stance]
Nearly instantly, and with a suprising amount of speed, Louise charged forward and stopped before Agnes, her glowing blue eyes showing no mercy. Time seemed to slow as she slashed upwards. The knight barely had enough time to step back and avoid the slash. Smirking, Louise used the momentum from her slash to toss her blade into the air.
[Spell Stance]
Distracted by the airborne blade, Agnes let her guard down as Louise slipped inside her guard and tripped her. As the knight stumbled forward, Louise spun behind her and placed a hand on her back.
"Aerora!" Louise chanted, summoning a powerful gust of wind which flung the knight towards Siesta. Thinking quickly, Siesta stepped forward and slammed a vicious right hook into the armored woman Louise had shot towards her. Agnes his the ground hard as Siesta shook her stinging fist.
"Partner!" Derflinger shouted as he fell down towards Louise whom quickly raised her hand to catch him. Catching the blade just in time, Louise brought the blade down just in time to slam it into a powerful ice spell courtesy of Tabitha. The force of the spell sent Louise sliding backwards as Derflinger quickly consumed the spell. "Woo! T-that's…c-Cold…"
"Without a word, you really are strong." Louise complimented Tabitha whose eyes widened ever so slightly at seeing her spell absorbed by the strange sword. Glancing back at her familiar, Tabitha didn't say anything as the dragon suddenly shot into the air with a mighty flap of its wings that sent a powerful gust of wind blasting throughout the battlefield.
"Support." Tabitha told Kirche before slamming her staff into the ground sending chunks of ice at Louise whom raised a flaming hand at the spell.
"Fira!" Louise called out as the intense flames sprung from her hand and melted the incoming spell before it could reach her.
"Support? Why are you treating the Zero like a threat?" Kirche wondered as her hand tightened on her wand so much so that her hand began to tremble. Kirche bit her lip as she raised her wand towards Louise, idly surprised to find the pinkette holding her own against Tabitha. "First wind then fire…you weren't supposed to be able to cast magic…you are the Zero right? How can you change this much?" Kirche wondered before her eyes narrowed. "Fireball!"
*FWOOOSH!*
"Incoming!" Derflinger shouted as Louise ducked under the flaming sphere before raising her hand at Kirche.
"Watera!" Louise shouted as she released a torrent of water that slammed into Kirche's mid-section, sending her crashing back before she was forced to absorb more spells from Tabitha. Louise cursed as she felt the intensity of her spells waning.
[Blade Stance]
Tabitha's eyes narrowed when she saw Louise's eyes shift colors before the pinkette charged her.
"Let's go!" Louise challenged as she dodged the ice spells instead of absorbing them, something that Tabitha took note of. Slamming her staff into the ground, a sphere of ice surrounded Tabitha just as Louise brought her blade down upon her. An arc of energy cut through the barrier causing the frozen sphere to split in two.
*CRASH!*
Suddenly Tabitha burst from the side of the barrier and slammed her staff into Louise's abdomen just as Louise slashed at her.
"Spear."
Tabitha spoke quietly making Louise's eyes widen before a spear of ice shot from the bottom of the staff and pierced Louise's side. Louise grunted in pain as she was sent flying away from Tabitha. To Tabitha's surprise, however, Louise managed to climb to her feet and grab the piece of ice piercing her side. Blood covered Louise's hand as she ripped the hunk out of her body.
[Spell Stance]
"Ow…Void that hurts…" Louise whimpered as her hand began to glow. "Cura."
For once, Tabitha's composure slipped as she watched the wound miraculously heal without the use of water magic.
"How–" Tabitha was cut off when her cape suddenly fell of her shoulders as the front of her shirt and skirt suddenly split open. Tabitha glanced down at her feet as she felt and saw her skirt fall down to her ankles as her staff split in half.
"Ohohoho~ White lace~" Derflinger said with a lecherous laugh as Louise stared at Tabitha with a blush.
"You perverted sword!"
"I don't exactly see you looking away, partner."
"S-shut up!" Louise stuttered out before frowning at Tabitha whom was holding both sides of her staff as opposed to the wand Louise could spot strapped to her upper thigh. To her credit, Tabitha didn't seem too effected by her sudden loss of clothing as she gripped the halves of her crackling staff tightly causing them to begin glowing brightly as cold mist enveloped them. "Yield!"
"No." Tabitha said simply before charging Louise, suprising the pinkette with her suddenly aggressive tactic as she spun the shining pieces of her staff rapidly in her hands.
"Well…okay then." Louise said not sure how to respond to the blunt refusal before stabbing Derflinger into the ground, with both of her hands on his hilt.
[Limit Break: Army of None Mk. II]
[Blade Stance]
Louise's magic released a powerful pulse from her body before she suddenly charged Tabitha at twice the bluenette's speed as she dragged her blade through the ground. Tabitha quickly released a whistle, making Louise's eyes widen as Tabitha's familiar flew down behind its masters and released a mighty gust of wind with a flap of its wings. The gust of wind, Launched Tabitha forward at twice her speed while amplifying her spell which absorbed the wind.
[Limit Break: Last Resort]
Louise gritted her teeth as she powered through the gust of wind that had slammed into her before she and Tabitha met in the middle of the clearing. Louise released a powerful upward slash that Tabitha countered with the ends of her staff. The two struggled for dominance as the ground beneath them began to crack. Suddenly, Tabitha's familiar released a second gust of wind, amplifying her magic even more and forced Louise back a bit before she pushed Derflinger back with enough force to knock him from Louise' hands.
"Partner!" Derflinger shouted as he flew through the air before he stabbed into the ground behind Louise.
[Spell Stance]
"Firaga!" Louise boomed as both her hands were engulfed in fire before she used them to grab on to Tabitha's. Tabitha's eyes widened as Louise grabbed the ends of her staff directly and clasped her hands over hers as they grappled for dominance.
*FABOOOOOOOOMMM*
The world around them exploded in a storm of fire and ice as the magic poured from the very core of their beings. To say Tabitha was surprised by Louise's strength would be an understatement even if she didn't show it well. Unlike the rest of her schoolmates who wrote Louise off, Tabitha knew better. The destructive power of her explosions were something that was hard for even her to replicate with her strongest spells.
Louise always had power.
Of that Tabitha knew, she had the most amount of raw power of anyone in their school. She just couldn't channel it appropriately.
"Still." Tabitha thought with a frown as the power of their clashing magic blew the glasses off of her face. "How hard did you work to make it this far when we weren't looking?" Tabitha wondered as she struggled for dominance. "Just how much stronger could you have been? I don't wish to do this…but I must complete my mission, if your journey has to end here…" Tabitha's thoughts trailed off as she gritted her teeth when an image of her mother flashed through her mind. "Then so be it…"
*BOOOOM!*
"What!?" Louise thought in alarm as Tabitha glared up at her before her familiar released a third gust of wind which began to push Louise back even as she dug her heels into the ground. However the familiar didn't stop there as it released a fourth gust, then a fifth, and so on and so forth as Tabitha began to easily push Louise back. "Even after all of this I still can't stand on the same level as her?" Louise wondered incredulously. Louise knew her power had increased by leaps and bounds but for her to be losing like this…
…it put into perspective just how far ahead Tabitha was.
"Is this what it means to be a prodigy?" Louise wondered as an image of her mother flashed through her mind as Tabitha released her spell which released an explosion of ice magic that threatened to consume Louise.
"Partner! Snap out of it! Did you forget what you're fighting for!?" Derflinger snapped making Louise's eyes widen before she raised her right foot and placed it backwards and on Derflinger whom was tuck behind her. Louise's arms struggles as she pushed Tabitha back even as her body was bombarded by the cold magic.
"What?" Tabitha wondered as Louise bowed her head as the intensity of her flames increased.
"You're amazing. That much power and skill backed by whatever goal is driving you…I'm sorry…" Louise quietly as she raised her head and gave Tabitha a sad smile. The bluenette was startled to see Louise's eye had taken on two different colors. Her left was a vibrant blue while her right was a bright pink.
[Equilibrium: Achieved]
[Note! By constantly switching between stances, Louise has a chance to enter the Equilibrium State! For 10 seconds this state increases Louise's spells and sword moves by one stage even if they are stage three! This state also removes the magic cost for any ability!]
"If you fought anyone else you'd never lose. Nothing can beat you." Louise said as Tabitha began to sweat from the heat of Louise's flames which began to melt her spell. "Unfortunately for you…I am nothing."
"Where is this power coming from!?" Tabitha wondered as she felt herself being over powered with what seemed to be relative ease. The speed at which Louise's power was growing even as her familiar tried in vain to keep boosting her own. "She shouldn't have THIS much magic within her…it's almost as if she's making it–but that's impossible!"
"And also…I have a goal I can't fail." Louise said as her body was engulfed with her own fire, the intensity of her Firaga spell reaching new heights. "Inferno."
BGM: END
-Moments earlier: with Siesta-
"D-damn it…" Agnes groaned in a pain as she tried to get up only for Siesta to kick her in her side and send crashing on the back.
"Just stop it." Siesta said as she panted tiredly. Agnes was a very skilled swordswoman, of that Siesta was positive. Still, using the advantage Louise had given her at the beginning of the fight, Siesta never let that edge slip and proceeded to use any means necessary to defeat her opponent.
"What is it that you're after?" Agnes questioned with a tired glare as Siesta kicked her sword and way and gazed down upon her.
"Change… the kind of change our people have wanted for centuries." Siesta answered as Agnes clenched her fist tightly.
"How…no…why…why would she, a noble, go so far for you? The witnesses all said the same thing; that she only went after the Count for you. But you're just a commoner, just like me, you have no true value to nobility."
"Why? I can think of a few reasons she's done so much for me. Reasons that are really none of your business. Though you can figure it out, even if she herself can't at the moment." Siesta said after a moment of thought. "Let me ask you, why not? Why shouldn't she try to change things? And why are you of all people trying to stop it?" Siesta questioned before a surprising cold expression appeared on her face. "In a way, you're just as bad as the Nobles."
*FABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Siesta's heart nearly jumped out her chest at the sudden explosion and quickly turned around. Her jaw dropped as she saw the clearing which had been replaced with scorched earth and ice. Standing in the middle of the destruction was the exhausted form of Louise who was surrounded by fire. The sight made Siesta involuntarily shudder as she was reminded of the power that even young Nobles who were still in the academy wielded. Despite the training Lightning was giving her, Siesta couldn't help but wonder just how she was expected to take on threats like this.
*Rumble*
It was then that Siesta's attention switch as she felt the ground shake slightly confusing her until she something begin rising from the earth.
-With Kirche-
"What was that? That wasn't a duel that was a storm." Kirche thought incredulously as she looked at the exhausted form of Louise whom was gazing down upon a severely burned Tabitha. Hell even Tabitha's familiar was on the ground whimpering having been too close to the shockwave. Normally a beast as fierce as a Dragon should have withstood it but Kirche supposed it was still young.
Hell she couldn't even complain, at least the dragon fought unlike her familiar which had hid in terror.
"Like familiar like master." Kirche thought with disdain. Not used to combat, the fire mage was not prepared to be taken out by a single water spell. "Was that really enough to douse my flames?" Kirche wondered angrily as she thought about the duel she had witnessed. "How far behind did I fall?"
-With Louise-
"Amazing…you really were strong." Louise thought in wonder before grimacing as she clutched her side.
She was hurt.
"Gnh…" Tabitha whimpered, a sound that hit Louise harder than she expected.
Tabitha was more so.
"I knew I was going to have to fight some familiar faces one day, but I didn't expect it to be this soon or be the one classmate I didn't hate." Louise thoughtbefore raising her hand and using the last bit of her magic to heal Tabitha.
"Partner, what are you doing!?" Derflinger questioned in shock. Louise said nothing for a moment as she looked down at Tabitha who tiredly looked back up at her, the same question swimming in her eyes.
"She's not an enemy." Louise said simply though that statement held more meaning than either Derflinger or Tabitha knew as Louise recalled all the times Tabitha didn't partake in the teasing and even offered advice from time to time. "I want to see how far you go for whatever it is you're fighting for. I refuse to be the one to take your dreams from you." Louise said as she turn away from the downed mage. "Until next time."
Louise wasn't a fool.
She knew that she and Tabitha were going to clash again one day and that Tabitha would be much stronger.
But then again so would she.
Louise stopped however when she finally noticed the large form rising itself from the ground. Louise's eye twitched. "Are you serious? Now what!?"
"Golem." Tabitha said quietly as she looked at Louise, a quiet understanding showing her face as she realized that Louise truly had not idea about the significance of the golem. "Fouquet's."
"Great now I have to deal with them!" Louise snapped before wincing at her injuries. Tabitha was confused as to why Louise hadn't healed herself with that strange magic of hers. However, it became apparent rather quickly just where Louise had spent the last of her magic. "Damn it all, get out of here!" Louise snapped angrily as the Golem focused its attention on the young Nobles before digging into the ground and picking up a large chunk of earth.
"How?" Tabitha asked as she gave Louise a look that clearly said that she couldn't move.
"For the love of–just after I finished praising you too." Louise grumbled as she stepped in front of Tabitha and weakly raised her blade.
"Uh partner, I don't think throwing a rock counts as a spell I can eat." Derflinger pointed out.
"Run." Tabitha said making Louise's eye twitch.
"Shut up Tabitha! Of all the times for you to start talking."
"I hate to be the one, but maybe blue has got a point–"
"You shut up too." Louise snapped making both Derflinger and Tabitha sweatdrop. Louise closed her eyes as she reached down into herself looking for anything, any bit of magic that could help her.
-With Siesta-
"We're going to die." Agnes muttered making Siesta curse as she saw the monster target Louise. Without a second thought, Siesta ran towards the Noble, surprising Agnes greatly. "What are you doing? You have no power!" Agnes called out with a glare. "What's the point, if you can still move like that you should have run! Why do you and that Noble go so far for each other? It makes no sense!"
"WhatamIdoingwhatamIdoingwhatamIdoing." Surprisingly Siesta actually found herself having similar thoughts as she ran in without a plan. She knew why she was doing it, just what exactly she was going to do was an issue. It was then that a small part of Siesta's common sense decided to return and remind her that she was apparently carrying some sort of weapon.
-With Louise-
When no magic decided to come out and help Louise and help her perform an epic comeback. She decided to utilize plan B.
"Damn it Lightning get your ass back here!" Louise snapped angrily, part of her actually thinking that her familiar upped and ditched her. The Golem stepped forward and launched the massive boulder at them making Louise curse as she raised her blade.
"Partner!" Derflinger called out as the pinkette shut her eyes in fear as the boulder grew close.
*THOOOOOOOOOOM!*
A moment passed and when Louise didn't feel bone crushing agony, she decided it was safe to open her eyes. When she did, her breath caught in her throat at the sight before her.
BGM: Snow's Theme- Final fantasy XIII
"Sorry I'm not Lightning, hope you aren't too disappointed." Siesta grunted out as she held the massive boulder, her fingertip digging into the solid rock while a blue current of energy coursed over the jacket, revealing an intricate looking emblem, and over the rest of her body. Siesta gritted her teeth and stepped forward as she felt her muscles become a bit denser as the boulder seemed to lose its weight. "Take this back!" Siesta shouted before launching the massive boulder back across the clearing and straight into the golem.
*BOOOOOOOM!*
Siesta stood up straight and slammed a fist into her palm before cracking her neck with a smile.
"Alright, now this is a change I can work with." Siesta said as she looked down at her hands, her jacket billowing behind her like a flag before she glanced back at Louise's gaping form.
"S-siesta?" Louise asked incredulously, causing the commoner to give her a cheeky grin. "Wait, was she always this much taller than me?" Though Siesta hadn't grown at all, Louise oddly took note of the difference in their heights for the first time. For some reason the commoner just looked…bigger.
"Sit tight, Louise, I got this. Then we can both hunt down that familiar of yours." Siesta said blasting forward, her eyes narrowing as she approached the massive golem. The massive construct released a powerful punch towards her which she dodged at the last moment. This result in the Golem getting its fist stuck in the ground just long enough for Siesta to jump on it. Siesta ran up the arm before leaping high into the sky with her leg raised and her right fist cocked back. The coat and her fist seemed to shine red for a split second before she rammed her fist into the golem. "Eat this!"
[Limit break: The People's Fist!]
*BOOOOOM*
The nobles shielded their eyes as the golem was completely demolished into a pile of rubble.
"Holy…" Louise began with wide eyes.
"…Shit." Derflinger finished in shock.
BGM: END
Silver Trophy Unlocked: ONE PAAAWWWNNNCCCHHH! (One hit a golem, unarmed without magic.)
+5,000 Gold
"Well, that's enough excitement for today I believe." Siesta said as she walked out from the smoke.
"We're not done here!" Agnes shout as she forced herself to her feet while Siesta gave her a look that screamed that she thought the knight was insane for even attempting to challenge them any further.
"Then let's end this." Siesta said as she cracked her knuckles.
-With Lightning-
"Never thought I'd ever be happy to see that Jacket." Lightning muttered before healing the green haired woman and grabbing her tightly. "Be quiet and follow my lead." Lightning said coldly making the woman nod her head frantically.
-With Louise & Siesta-
Before a battle could take place, Lightning entered the clearing with her arm wrapped around the green haired woman's neck.
"Put your blade down or I'll end this woman's existence." Lightning said coldly making the teens turn to her in their own versions of shock.
"Lightning, what?" Louise asked in confusion as Siesta stared at the woman in shock. Lightning gave them a subtle glare that told them to play along before turning back to Agnes.
"I swear I will end her, right here. Do not test me. Stand down and let us leave…or else." Lightning and Agnes held each other's stare for a bit before the knight cursed and dropped her blade as Louise and Siesta approached Lightning.
"Hopefully, this is goodbye." Louise said to her former classmates as Kirche rushed to Tabitha's side.
"This isn't over we will meet again." Louise wasn't sure why, but something about the way Kirche said that sent a shiver down her spine. The younger pinkette scoffed and turned away.
"Then so be it." Louise said as she and her group plus one disappeared into the foliage. "Lightning, what took you so long and why do you have Ms. Longueville hostage?"
"Had to find out who was hiding, unfortunately they managed to summon the golem. Before that, though I had to figure out where the wagon went. The fight scared off the horses." Lightning said and as soon as she finished, they stopped before their wagon.
"Lightning?" Siesta questioned in confusion as the older woman suddenly released her hostage.
"Louise, meet our newest member; Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth." Lightning said simply as Louise turned to the former secretary in shock.
"Wait, what? You're Fouquet?" Louise asked for clarification making the woman nod as she cleaned her glasses.
"Yes, but please call me Matilda. It is the name I was born with after all." The thief said simply.
"Wait. Why is she coming along with us? And how can we trust her?" Siesta questioned as she frowned at the thief. "She did just try to kill us, you know!"
"She's a thief so she'll be able to help with our financial problems quite easily, but more importantly she is someone who has been screwed over by nobility just as much as you." Lightning said seriously.
"And as for trust…" Matilda began before jerking a thumb over at Lightning. "Do you really think I would try to cross her? She gave me two choices; join or die." The woman said dryly.
"Point." Both Siesta and Louise said as they nodded sagely.
"As for the Golem, she made me keep it up to see if the commoner could pull her weight." Matilda said as she glanced at Siesta. "I'll admit it's a shame that I've lost the cloak, but I'll live. Not a fan of close-quarters combat anyway."
"Let's start heading to the next town, Matilda can tell you her story on the way there and if you still don't feel comfortable with her…I'll consider just turning her in for the cash her bounty is quite high now." Lightning said making them sweat-drop.
"Speaking of bounties, ours is sure to go up now." Siesta muttered making Louise turn to her in confusion. "We now have kidnapping and assisting a thief on top of murder." Siesta explained making Louise face-palm.
"Unbelievable."
Silver Trophy unlocked: Now it's a party! (Get a fourth party member)
+900 Gold
Next Level: The Lies You Whispered (Louise vs. Wardes)
Continue?
[Play]
Pause
-Limit Breaks Obtained-
The People's Fist: Drawing on the power of her emblem, Siesta releases a powerful blow that is filled with the pain of her oppression! When using the move, Siesta is given super armor allowing to blow through anyone attempting to stop her!
-Note not adding Tabitha's cause…well she isn't part of the group.
Yet.
REVIEWS!
LordOfFigaro: Haha no problem! We at X7 entertainment are glad to give you something to look forward to. XD
DuskDragonDeltaxd: Glad you like it, don't worry I have plans for her summon. When it happens you should enjoy it!
Arkzero: TO answer both your questions, yes, those aspects are still present in this story. Glad you like it!
Gundam Kaiser: Yeah its more for further down the road, just figured I'd place the warning there before people got too invested. Thanks for the review!
Darkerdeepdown: The music should start broadening but honestly I think final fantasy has an ost for every situation at this point. Thanks for the review!
Grey: Really I hadn't noticed that when I said this wasn't a crack fic anymore and that it would get dark, did it really take 3 chapters to get the memo?
Rales Mckoy: Hope you continue to enjoy it!
Some Powerfull Random Guy: Yeah that's something I don't like too tbh. Like if you're going to make a crossover be ready to account for the difference in power in a way that doesn't nerf the characters to hell. He's doing much better but like I said in the AN the project he's working on could end up being pretty big. Thanks for the review!
PokeSEGA64: Haha nice I might have to find a way to incorporate that alias later down the road. No it will never stop being awesome :D
L337 M4n: Yeah I played it, don't worry I have ways to deal with that without an issue. As for why those two? Honestly mainly because if we're to be honest the three games that pretty much define the MODERN final fantasy (The most popular) would be 7,13, and 15. That's legit the only reason (Rebuke and I also have an irrational hatred of TIdus' character for reasons that will take 3 pages of ranting so I'm not pulling the pin on that grenade. Loved X, don't get me wrong but…yeah…)
As for the relationship between Karin and Louise? Oooo boy, wow, uh yeah about that….it's not going to be pretty. Like legit you're going to look back on this review and just laugh once that aspect of the story gets fleshed out. Thanks for the review!
Leonas: I feel you I was debating keeping it or not, I mean either way the message was still there but I get what you mean. I made a decision to sort of expand that moment into a larger scene to help set up the copious amount of feels that will be present in later chapters. The goal of this rewrite is to add more depth and a more human feel. As for the trigger like I said I placed it there so its early enough to stop people from getting too invested.
Shit's going to get real in time, in fact next chapter while not overtly….let's just say you'll need to read between the lines on somethings.
Ridlii Scott: Oh I know she gets it from her father, but –excuse em as I go biology nerd for a second- I decided to treat Void magic as a "recessive gene" kind of thing. Her mother having it too will help explain why neither family produced a void mage up until now. IT also helps set up the stage for Karin's power to really shine but that's a later issue.
Le Chasseur: Glad you like it in fact he's doing fine like stated previously. Also (Looks around for eavesdroppers) Since you're such a great reviewer and reader and have been with us for YEARS (the fact we haven't scared you off yet is amazing) Rebuke wants you to know he might be able to uh…slip you the first 2 chapters if you're interested. Just let me know and I'll tell him!
GF255: Fucking phenomenal as always, to have someone also contribute to the story is great plus this also helps me have a quick cheat sheet to see just what their power levels are when I'm writing! Thanks for the assist!
Kagemoto: That will definitely be how she deals with some issue lol!
Redrangerlegacy: Yup, Siesta's going monk the others…well that remains to be seen.
AJ Lexie: Lexie…the woman…the myth…the legend…wassup!? Haha glad you like my "rhythm" then! To be honest I'm surprised I've gotten as much positive feedback as I have, still good to know.
Crimson Grave: Haha thanks for the review! Still learning and all that but I'm glad you like it. Tbh Rebuke told me the same thing so I might edit that part later down the road, The Beta did fix the spelling issues so there is that. Glad you liked my changes tho! Also between me and you and like one more person in these review replies-since no one ever reads replies unless it is to their own review- Writing on "The Best Man" (The Wingman sequel) has begun! We're collaborating on it and have 17 pages of greatness so far. So stay tuned my friend!
Trancelation: Glad you like it and hope you stay for more!
Gabriel790: Thanks!
The Undying Will: Well well if it isn't my arch-nemesis…joking thanks for the beta like always! Yeah the feels are going to be strong in this version believe that!
Dopplerdee: Glad you like it! Yeah I wanted to have it feel more like life if that makes sense. More human like responses to situations and all that. Also heads up Dee, if you liked The Wingman…just know that it's being worked on atm.
RiceFieldRenigade: Lol sometimes you need that good old fashioned Darksouls treatment if you wanna change the world XD.
Doctor Corvus: I hoped it would be! Thanks for the review!
Shunshinking: A few Louise might "recreate" in her own combat but what exactly remains to be seen.
Hero of the Multiverse: Yeah he did! Lol even Lightning has a weakness, her social skills…leave m uch to be desired. Glad you liked it!
The Wolf Paladin: Well remember she wasn't even in class that week and people don't really seek her out this is why Tabitha was caught off guard when she saw the wounds. I'm thinking of taking Rebuke's method (Don't read it if you haven't you'll spoil the surprise :O) and tweaking it a bit more to fit the story. That reunion…yeah that's gonna be interesting.
